


Mainlined

by PeppyDragon



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Drug Use - Mentioned, F/F, F/M, Infidelity - Mentioned, Language, Love, SPOILERS for LiS - Before the Storm, Sexual innuendo - brief, Tragic Romance, soft angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 16:47:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13838931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeppyDragon/pseuds/PeppyDragon
Summary: Chloe Price has noticed a change in Rachel Amber, but she tries not to think about what could be coming between them. Rachel struggles with her mother's vices, the choices Rachel has made to maintain those vices, her lies and deceit, and her overwhelming love for Chloe.





	Mainlined

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything here! If you need any additional tags/warnings, please let me know. It's a short piece, so I think I got it all, but just in case! xoxox
> 
>  
> 
> **SPOILERS for LiS - Before the Storm**
> 
>  
> 
> "I got your emotions tattooed on my sleeve -  
> I think about you all the time,  
> I've waited for you all my life,  
> I need you right here by my side."  
> [-"Empty," Kevin Abstract](https://open.spotify.com/track/6gSw5vz7dcafda23VqMrnl?si=QRXqI-fSRcW1hon1OGZkFQ)

Chloe exhaled, watching the steady stream of smoke filter through the window and out into the muggy morning air. Summer had always been Chole's least favorite time of the year; granted, she did get to see all of the beautiful people of Arcadia Bay in their skimpiest and that, usually, was a pretty fantastic thing.

But with summer came flies and sweat and history buffs, lighthouse enthusiasts, and worst of all - _nature joggers._ Hundreds descended on their tiny town with a passion for stretching that Chloe could neither understand nor look at without laughing.

She glanced down at where her phone sat beside her, delicately balanced on an overflowing ashtray. Nothing.

It had been three days since she'd heard from Rachel. These random stretches of silence were becoming more frequent, By the time Chloe finally managed to track Rachel down, the girl seemed embarrassed, agitated, or awkward, her lashes hiding her hazel eyes more often than not.

 _This is it,_ Chloe thought with a sigh, stamping her joint out on the wall, watching the tip crumble into a dark smudge of ash. _This is when she finally ends it._ Chloe's heart clenched as she reached for her pack of cigarettes with shaking fingers. She hated how much she loved Rachel. She hated how dependent she was on the Blackwell angel. She hated how the thought of losing Rachel made her insides bottom out. How did Rachel ensnare everyone around her?

Chloe swallowed and dropped the cigarettes, picking up her phone while trying not to look at the background for too long. It was one of her favorite pictures she'd taken - the light filtering through the trees made Rachel's face shine with an ethereal glow, how Rachel's smirk was full of teeth and laughter, how her hazel eyes looked more green that morning on the train tracks.

 **FROM: ME 7/6/2011 07:21 AM**  
earth to rach

If the sound of Chloe's mother walking toward her door hadn't pulled Chloe out of her reverie, she probably would have stared at the phone for another hour without blinking. As it was, though, Joyce rapped on Chloe's door, calling in, "Chloe, you realize I have a nose, don't you?"

Chloe sighed heavily, tossing her phone onto the rumpled sheets and getting to her feet, padding to the door. She opened it to find Joyce's harried face sans makeup, the dark circles under her eyes more defined than they had been when Chloe had last seen her. Chloe felt a small twinge of regret, knowing most of that was probably her fault; galivanting around without a tether, eating food she didn't pay for, coming and going like an aloof cat.

Joyce took one look at Chloe and groaned. "Honestly, Chloe. I haven't seen you in four days, and now you show up and smoke pot for hours while I'm trying to get the first bit of sleep I've had in a week?"

Chloe leaned against the door jam; her hip thrust out to catch the door from being pushed open. She wasn't sure how Joyce would react to the sheer number of empty beer cans littering the floor around her teenaged daughter's bed. "Sorry."

Joyce was too tired to muster a look of shock, it seemed. "You're lucky David's working early this summer. He'd tan your hide."

Chloe bit back a retort about the step-douche. Joyce looked as if she might fall over from exhaustion at any moment and, in spite of Joyce's poor decisions over the past few years, Chloe still loved her. "I'll stop smoking in the house." She paused, knowing that would only set her up for failure. "Early in the morning."

Joyce rolled her eyes. "Try all summer, missy. You're not the only one with their windows open, you know." The woman pursed her lips and glanced over what little of Chloe that she could see. "It'd be nice to have a family dinner once in a while. I can't remember the last time the three of us had a meal together."

"I've been busy," Chloe mumbled her usual excuse, hoping it would hold out one more time. _And we're not a family,_ she added internally. If she had to see that stupid mustache one more time -

"Bring Rachel if that means I can see your face once in a while." Joyce turned back toward her bedroom without another word, the weariness in her bones evident by her slumped shoulders and slow shuffle.

Chloe closed the door with a quiet click and leaned against the wood, closing her eyes.

Her phone buzzed from its place on the bed, but Chloe did not move. Rachel had made her wait three days; the angel could wait a goddamn minute for Chloe to sort herself out.

 

* * *

 

Rachel came to slowly, her eyelids fluttering open before closing again, a hiss slipping through her dry lips as the blinding sun tossed spots in front of her eyes. She missed her bedroom and the heavy curtains that blocked out the light until she was ready to be a person.

Being a person became harder and harder as each day passed.

Her phone was flashing from the messy bedside table. Rachel knew who it was before she unplugged the phone from the borrowed charger.

 **1 Message**  
**Chloe**

Rachel winced against the light and reached for her discarded shirt, trying to be as silent as she could. Frank was an insanely light sleeper, shockingly. He reminded her of Chloe sometimes when he slept. They were both so soft, so innocent looking when they let their guards down.

And they had both let their guards down for her. For better or worse. Mostly worse.

Rachel let out an involuntary sigh, and Frank stirred, eyes opening blearily. "Hey," he mumbled. His throat sounded as dry as hers felt. "Where're you going?"

She waved her phone and smiled apologetically. It was a good thing she was a decent actress; even so, she probably didn't need to be to fool Frank. He wanted to believe her so much. "My girlfriend needs me."

Frank groaned, pulling his pillow over his face. He mumbled something, but she couldn't understand it. She took the moment of distraction to pull her shirt on and stand, sliding into her skinny jeans with minimal effort. She was losing weight; losing weight was not exactly flattering on her frame. "Do you have a belt I can borrow?"

The pillow fell away from Frank's face. "You need more?"

"No," Rachel grumbled, turning to face him and tugging at her jeans. "I need a belt. Like, an actual belt. To keep my pants up."

Frank sat up and rummaged through one of his messy drawers, producing a thin black belt and tossing it at her. "It's gonna look ridiculous on you."

"Whatever, it's fine," she mumbled, sliding the leather through the loops.

"It's way too big."

"It's fine," she repeated, trying not to lose her temper. "Hey, can I get an eighth off of you? Peace offering for Chloe."

Frank grumbled; it seemed to be his pastime this early in the morning. "That kid's gonna get you killed."

"She adores me."

"And you?" At Rachel's raised brow, he added, "Do you _adore_ her?" He said it with an audible sneer in spite of his face remaining mostly placid.

Rachel hesitated in the middle of circling the excess leather through the loops a second time. Her fingers trembled as she thought. She loved Chloe; _really_ loved her. But Frank didn't want to hear that. Frank didn't want the truth.

"You know it's you and me forever," Rachel lied with a grin she knew looked convincing.

"And once you're eighteen?" he pressed.

Rachel tried not to grimace. "We've already talked about this."

"I wanna hear it again."

Rachel slid onto the bed and wrapped her arms around Frank, trying to ignore the stink of alcohol, sweat, and her perfume. Rachel did what she did best - she lied. "Then we can be together for real. But until then-"

"Chloe," Frank sighed.

"Chloe," she confirmed, pulling back to slide into her socks and boots.

Frank got up and produced a small baggy of weed, tossing it onto the bed beside Rachel. "For your princess. I hope she chokes on it."

Rachel looked up at Frank with a pout. "Don't be mean. She's sweet; sweeter than most."

Frank grunted and slid back into bed, closing his eyes. "I was gonna make you breakfast."

"Funyuns don't count as breakfast," Rachel chuckled, returning to her phone. She tried not to let the guilt overtake her as she looked over Chloe's message; simple, terse. Chloe was worried and upset. Chloe had every right to be worried and upset.

 **FROM: ME 7/6/11 07:27 AM**  
Hey! What are you doing today?  
More specifically, what are ~we~ doing today?

Rachel stood and slid her phone into one pocket, the baggie into the other. Slipping into her jacket, Rachel tugged on the tattered denim sleeve to ensure it mostly covered her track marks. Makeup would hide them, but she needed to make it home first.

"Later, Frank," she said as she headed for the door, side-stepping Pompidou's massive body in the tiny hallway.

"You sure you don't need another fix? You know... one for the road?"

Rachel swallowed, her dry mouth suddenly watering. Although the heroin singing through her veins didn't need to mainline yet, the suggestion was a tempting one. But she had to get home. She had to get presentable. She had to see Chloe; to hold her, to try to keep up the lie she was too ashamed to admit to - she was in too deep. She was whoring herself out for the same shit that ruined her mother. "I have to go, Frank."

He didn't respond, and Rachel didn't offer anything more. She left the RV, going through her texts and deleting the conversation with Frank, deleting all hint of anything nefarious. Frank knew not to text her or call her. She made the first contact; she made the rules. She always made the rules.

Her phone buzzed just as Rachel was sliding into the car her disgraced father had bought her while groveling and apologizing. She didn't accept his words, of course. But the car was beautiful, and she didn't see much harm in extracting what she could from the man who tried to have her birth mother killed.

She got home and into her bedroom before Chloe's next texts came through. Rachel was in the middle of patting some primer and foundation over the bend of her elbow and lower bicep, the vibration startling her out of her daze.

 **FROM: CHLOE 7/6/11 8:02 AM**  
wow, she emerges  
i don't have anything planned  
other than staring at the ceiling and contemplating what cali looks like in the summer  
lots of hotties, amirite

 **FROM: ME 7/6/11 8:03 AM**  
You have no idea, Price.  
It's not SoCal, but wanna go to the beach?

 **FROM; CHLOE 7/6/11 8:05 AM**  
today?  
like, right now?

 **FROM: ME 7/6/11 08:06 AM**  
Obviously.  
I've been wanting to see you in a bikini for, like, a whole year.

 **FROM: CHLOE 7/6/11 08:06 AM**  
you do remember you've seen me naked at least 20 times rite

 **FROM: ME 7/6/11 08:08 AM**  
Doesn't that make it worse that I haven't seen your bikini yet?  
Kinda rushed into things, didn't we?  
Maybe we should try this whole dating thing again. Start from the beginning?  
Hello, Miss Price. My name is Rachel Amber. I'd like to see you in a bikini before I soil your purity with my wicked ways.  
My don't you have fantastic hair.  
I'd like to be grabbing it while you go down on me.

 **FROM: CHLOE 7/6/11 08:10 AM**  
jesus. can't tell if i'm more turned on or annoyed  
i'll pick you up in 30

 **FROM: ME 7/6/11 08:12 AM**  
Perfect.  
See you soon, Miss Price.

 **FROM: CHLOE 7/6/11 08:13 AM**  
annoyed. definitely more annoyed  
see you soon

 **FROM: ME 7/6/11 08:14 AM**  
xoxoxo

Rachel bit her tongue to distract her eyes from watering. She finished her makeup, covering the multicolored, angry bruises on her arm and the splotchiness of her face. She pulled on a new monokini her mother -stepmother? Fake mother? Some woman she lived with?- had bought her. The color was close to Chloe's hair; Rachel was reasonably sure that it was intentional. Rose had made sure to be nothing but supportive of the relationship. Granted, Rose wasn't aware of their constant smoking, drinking, and crashing live shows in seedy hovels.

What Rose didn't know wouldn't kill her.

Rachel slid into a black coverup, thankful that its sleeves were long and billowy. She adjusted the neckline and looked at herself in the mirror. Her mussed hair probably smelled like Frank's RV - must and dog piss. Her jay-feather earring had tangled up within itself, and Rachel pulled it from her ear reluctantly, putting it on her dresser. After dousing herself liberally with the green apple body spray Chloe loved, Rachel slipped into a pair of sandals and flopped her way downstairs.

"I'm going to the beach," she called uselessly behind her in case Rose was in the kitchen. The lack of response told Rachel that Rose was probably still in bed with a headache or heartache that she couldn't shake.

Rachel made it to the curb at the same time Chloe's rusted truck growled around the corner. She smiled fondly at the pitted piece of shit. She never felt as safe as she did in that dumb deathtrap... she never felt as safe as she did beside Chloe.

"I was half-expecting a ghost-Rachel when I showed up," Chloe teased, calling out over the rumble of her engine. "Get in or I'm leaving without you."

Rachel smirked at her and climbed into the monstrous vehicle. "Sorry, I've been spacey." She leaned across the middle seat and placed a lingering kiss on Chloe's cheek. Chloe turned into it, and their lips brushed. Rachel still felt an electric spark each time they kissed. Her father had once told her that was what love felt like. Rachel wasn't sure if it had been love in the beginning; maybe magnetism, maybe desire, maybe a high from their performance in The Tempest. But now it was love - the deepest love Rachel had ever, and would ever, feel.

"I love you," Rachel murmured when she pulled back, her eyes rising to Chloe's blue ones, trying to convey everything she wanted to say. Trying to apologize for the things she couldn't say.

Chloe softened and kissed her forehead. "Love you, too, Rach."

Rachel leaned back into her seat and Chloe pressed down on the accelerator, the truck belching fumes and jerking into motion.

 

* * *

 

Chloe collapsed on the sand, her chest heaving more than it should have. "Fucking... smoking," she panted to herself with an apologetic smile directed at Rachel. The girl was still running and dancing through the waves with more energy than Chloe had seen in months. She watched Rachel giggle and kick the water in Chloe's direction, too far off to be concerning.

It didn't take long for Rachel to weave her way toward where Chloe was still prone on the sand. She sat on Chloe's waist before draping herself across Chloe's chest, her chin on Chloe's clavicle. "I got an eighth from Frank," Rachel murmured, reaching out to run a hand gently through Chloe's tangles. "Wanna?"

"Maybe later," Chloe mumbled, eyes closing. She was too comfortable to move. Her hands rose to Rachel's waist, hesitating at how thin she felt. Rachel's hipbones were sharp daggers against hers. She thought about asking, but the beach wasn't the place, especially since people were beginning to filter onto the sand, tossing frisbees, taking photos, or sketching. Chloe smirked a bit to herself. Damn artistic types.

Max would love it.

Max would love Rachel.

Chloe bit back the heat that rose to her chest and ran a hand across Rachel's cheek to center herself."I've missed you."

Rachel pressed her face into Chloe's neck; Chloe could hear her breathing hitch. "I'm sorry. Things have gotten... weird. At home. Everywhere," she added with a wry chuckle.

Chloe knew there was more to it, but it was a perfect day. They were together. She didn't want to ruin it. "You know, your birthday is on a Sunday."

Rachel's head rose and her brows furrowed. "It's on a Friday."

"Your 18th," Chloe elaborated with a grin, pushing Rachel's side-swept bangs from her eyes. "It's on a Sunday."

Rachel looked confused before a slow smile stretched her lips. She leaned in, kissing Chloe's chin. "Fitting, isn't it? The first day of a new week and the first day of our new lives."

"You're still down?"

"Still down, Price," Rachel chuckled, stretching her neck to meet Chloe's lips. "I can't wait to get the fuck out of here."

"Then let's go," Chloe whispered, eyes searching Rachel's. "We said we were going to go a year ago. Let's fucking do it."

Chloe watched in confusion as Rachel swallowed and sat up, scratching absently at her arm. "We should finish this right," Rachel murmured. "I'll finish school, you'll get your GED, and we'll have money. We have my car-"

"-and my truck," Chloe added.

"-and your truck," Rachel allowed. "And I'll get graduation money from the grandparents and my dad. We can just... slip out. A clean break."

Chloe noticed something pass behind Rachel's eyes at the word _clean._ Chloe tried not to think about it as she licked her lips, salty from the ocean air, and watched Rachel stare at the sand as if it was doing something interesting. "Sure. Yeah," Chloe murmured, her heart sinking a little, "we do it right."

What was the worst that could happen? Waiting another year wouldn't be so terrible; hell, waiting a few years wouldn't be that bad. Chloe and Rachel had their junkyard getaway. They had each other.

Nothing could change that.


End file.
